Coffee polyphenols protect human plasma from postprandial carbonyl modifications.

The antioxidant capability of coffee polyphenols to inhibit red-meat lipid peroxidation in stomach medium and absorption into blood of malondialdehyde (MDA) in humans was studied. Roasted-ground coffee polyphenols that were found to inhibit lipid peroxidation in stomach medium are 2- to 5-fold more efficient antioxidant than those found in instant coffee. Human plasma from ten volunteers analyzed after a meal of red-meat cutlets (250 g) revealed a rapid accumulation of MDA. The accumulation of MDA in human plasma modified low-density lipoprotein is known to trigger atherogenesis. Consumption of 200 mL roasted coffee by ten volunteers during a meal of red-meat cutlets, resulted after 2 and 4 h in the inhibition by 80 and 50%, respectively, of postprandial plasma MDA absorption. The results obtained in vitro simulated stomach model on MDA accumulation were predictive for the amount of MDA absorbed into circulating human plasma, in vivo. Timing the consumption of coffee during the meals may make it a very active functional food.